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Tuesday, May 16, 2023

I hope you had a terrific Tuesday! Scroll down below for Chris Licht's town hall lessons, Comcast's "likely" sale of Hulu to Disney, Elon Musk's wild interview with CNBC's David Faber, and the WGA's argument to studios. But first, the A1.

THE A1

Alarm Over A.I.

CNN Photo Illustration/Win McNamee/Getty Images

In a pivotal Congressional hearing centered on the future of artificial intelligence, Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, served as the star witness, underscoring the importance of proactive measures to tackle A.I.'s challenges. The hearing, titled "A.I. and Society: Preparing for the Technological Revolution," convened lawmakers, experts, and industry leaders to discuss the implications and policy considerations surrounding A.I.

Altman's testimony shed light on the immense potential of A.I. to revolutionize various sectors, from healthcare and transportation to education and beyond. He emphasized the transformative power of A.I. in advancing scientific research, increasing efficiency, and solving complex societal problems. However, Altman also warned of the risks and responsibilities associated with AI, urging lawmakers to take the necessary steps to ensure ethical and responsible deployment.

The OpenAI CEO stressed the urgency of addressing A.I.'s impact on employment and emphasized the need for comprehensive retraining and reskilling programs to equip workers with the skills needed in an A.I.-driven economy. He called for collaboration between government, academia, and the private sector to design policies that safeguard workers' livelihoods and promote economic inclusivity.

If that sounds eerily similar to the events that took place Tuesday on Capitol Hill, but not quite right, that's because it isn't.

This description was actually written by ChatGPT, the disruptive generative artificial intelligence chatbot that in the short months since it was first unveiled to the world has taken it by storm with its remarkable ability to construct convincingly human-written sentences.

But while the recounting of today's event appears legitimate on its face, the details are completely imagined and false. There was no hearing titled, "AI and Society: Preparing for the Technological Revolution." And Altman's supposed testimony, while frighteningly close to his actual sentiment, is wholly made up.

That ability to blur the line between what is real and imagined — without hesitation and within seconds — threatens to unleash a tidal wave of misinformation on society, rewrite how we think of intellectual property, and more. It's just a few of a myriad reasons why A.I. is drawing scrutiny from lawmakers, prompting the first U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday over the transformative and potentially dangerous new technology that threatens to completely upend life as we know it.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal underscored that notion at Tuesday's hearing, playing a convincing but fake recording of his own voice which argued that A.I. cannot be allowed to unfold in an unregulated environment, illustrating a powerful and potentially dangerous use of the technology.

Altman, who has not shied away from acknowledging the tech's potential danger, said in his actual testimony Tuesday that the technology's boom was a potential "printing press moment" but one that required safeguards and regulation to restrain the nascent tech and avoid potential disaster.

"We think that regulatory intervention by governments will be critical to mitigate the risks of increasingly powerful models," Altman said.

But unlike recent combative hearings on the Hill featuring distressed social media executives facing a public grilling over their actions and ubiquitous platforms, Altman and others are actively calling for regulation.

Whether that happens before it is too late is up to lawmakers.

OFF THE WIRE

"The government has a chance to get ahead of things now, rather than try to deal with problems after they come up and are far harder to solve," Sara Morrison writes. (Vox)
"But it was unclear how lawmakers would respond to the call to regulate A.I.," Cecilia Kang noted. "The track record of Congress on tech regulations is grim." (NYT)
The World Health Organization "called for caution on Tuesday in using artificial intelligence for public healthcare, saying data used by AI to reach decisions could be biased or misused," Shivani Tanna reports. (Reuters)
Staffers at CNET are unionizing after the company's A.I. scandal, warning "automated technology threatens our jobs." (Vice)
"Microsoft says new A.I. shows signs of human reasoning." That's the headline on a big piece from Cade Metz about "a provocative paper from researchers at Microsoft [that] claims A.I. technology shows the ability to understand the way people do." (NYT)

——— BELOW THE FOLD ———

CNN Photo Illustration/Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Licht's Lessons: CNN boss Chris Licht wishes he did a few things differently during the network's widely criticized Trump town hall last week, according to CNBC's Alex Sherman. Licht has acknowledged to some people that "there are several production elements that he would have liked done in a different way," Sherman reported. Sherman, citing sources, added that Licht would have grappled with the live audience differently, used different camera shots to put the focus on moderator Kaitlan Collins when she combated Trump's lies, and utilized on-screen graphics in a different way. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment on the report. Read Sherman's piece.

THE BUSINESS

CNN Photo Illustration/Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

The Hulu Dance: It looks like Comcast will sell its 33% stake in Hulu to Disney. Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts said at the SVB MoffettNathanson investor conference that "it's more likely than not we go through" with a deal. "Roberts also suggested the final price for Hulu will likely be higher than the $27.5 billion valuation initially set in 2019," CNBC's Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo reported. Disney chief executive Bob Iger said earlier this year "everything was on the table" with regard to the general entertainment streamer. More recently, Iger said Disney will house Hulu and Disney+ content under the same roof in a forthcoming version of the app.

IN THE INDUSTRY

"A New York appeals court reinstated parts of a lawsuit previously dismissed by a lower court in which a former ABC News producer accused former network executive Michael Corn of creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and improper sexual contact," Joe Flint reports. (WSJ)
Disney has asked a Florida court "to dismiss a lawsuit by the board of supervisors that Gov. Ron DeSantis had handpicked to oversee Walt Disney World's operations," Kevin Breuninger and Sarah Whitten report. (CNBC)
"Austin Russell, the 28-year-old American CEO of electric vehicle tech company Luminar Technologies, plans to put in only $10 million of his own money as part of his bid to buy 82% of Forbes for $656 million," Sara Fischer reports. "The rest is almost all coming from foreign investors." (Axios)
Masha Gessen stepped down from the board of PEN America "after a panel at the organization's World Voices Festival featuring Russian writers was canceled in response to objections by Ukrainian writers," Jennifer Schuessler reports. (NYT)
Salman Rushdie warned that authors' freedom to publish is at risk in his first public speech since last year's stabbing. (LAT)
"No need to shoot The Messenger: Its muddled ideas are doing the job," is the headline on Joshua Benton's latest piece. "It's in an aggressive sort of denial about the world of digital news publishing in 2023." (Nieman Lab)
Dotdash Meredith launched D/Cipher, which it dubbed as a "groundbreaking ad targeting tool that makes intent-based targeting at scale a reality, without cookies." (PR Newswire)
The Wall Street Journal "is eliminating the routine use of honorifics, or courtesy titles, in its news pages," Editor-In-Chief Emma Tucker announced in a memo to staffers. (WSJ)

MEDIA MOVES

First in Reliable | Buzzing Along: 14 former BuzzFeed News staffers have found new roles within BuzzFeed's other divisions after the news outlet shuttered, a spokesperson told me. Nine of those journalists have landed jobs at HuffPost and five others have made their way to the original BuzzFeed brand.
The WaPo hired Monica Campbell as an audio editor. (WaPo)
The NYT hired Claire Moses as a reporter in London. (NYT)

THE INFO WARS

CNN Photo Illustration/Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Elon's Extremism: Elon Musk doubled down on his claim that George Soros "hates humanity" and "wants to erode the very fabric of civilization." The attack, which parrots anti-Semitic attacks Soros has faced for years, earned Musk a swift rebuke from the Anti-Defamation League. The head of the organization, Jonathan Greenblatt, blasted Musk for his rhetoric, calling it "dangerous" and saying that "it will embolden extremists." But Musk stood by the comments when confronted Tuesday evening by CNBC's David Faber. Musk said that it was his "opinion." When asked about the potential financial repercussions, Musk paused for 12 seconds before answering with an analogy from "The Princess Bride." He then added, "I'll say what I want to say and if the consequences of that are losing money, so be it."

IN THE BATTLEFIELD

Musk also claimed there was "no proof" the swastika-tattooed Texas shooter believed in white supremacy despite authorities having said that he posted neo-Nazi content. (Rolling Stone)
Musk accused Bellingcat of engaging in "psy-ops." Jake Tapper rebutted, "[Bellingcat] is a great journalistic organization. Conversely, Musk once linked to a deranged article about Paul Pelosi in the Santa Monica Observer, a nutjob website that claimed in 2016 that Hillary Clinton had died and had been replaced by a body double." (Twitter)
When asked about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, Musk affirmed Biden's win, but said "the answer is nuanced." (Daily Caller)
Of note: David Faber fielded some criticism for his handling of the interview, including from inside the tent. NBC News reporter Brandy Zadrozny, who covers misinfo, argued Faber should have more aggressively pushed back against Musk. (Twitter)
Switching gears: "A handful of Fox anchors have reached out to [Tucker] Carlson directly or had their surrogates contact him to say they are eager to join whatever venture he starts on Twitter when their contracts are up," Tatiana Siegel reported. (Variety)

THE VALLEY

TOO MANY TABS

They're divorced. Meta has spun out customer service startup Kustomer, which it acquired for about $1 billion. (CNBC)
Meta paid verification has rolled out in the U.K. (BBC)
Google said it will delete accounts that have been dormant for at least two years. (CNN)
This is interesting: TikTok will start to pay the people who create viral filters and effects. (The Verge)
An Apple engineer was charged with stealing the Cupertino-based technology for a Chinese autonomous car company. (CNBC)

CURTAIN CALL

CNN Photo Illustration/Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Are the Writers Right?: The Writers Guild of America West argued Tuesday that if the strike persists for months it could end up costing the big studios more money than if they just agreed to their demands now. The contention was made in an email to members. "They are risking significant continued disruption in the coming weeks and months that would far outweigh the costs of settling," the WGA said. The Wrap's Jeremy Fuster has more.

► Related: "Writers face a much greater risk than just the wages they're losing every week the strike stays out; they risk teaching the bosses how to do more without writers even after the strike ends," WaPo's Megan McArdle writes.

OFF STAGE

The Cannes Film Festival's Tuesday overture has been marked with controversy over its organizers' choice to open with Johnny Depp's first film since winning his defamation trial last year. (NYT)
"Fast X" is projected to speed to $235 million and $60 million at the international and domestic box offices, respectively, making it the third-largest international debut for a "Fast & Furious" film. (Deadline)
Jamie Foxx is now undergoing physical rehab after a mysterious "medical complication." (CNN)
Hulu has ordered 20 more episodes of "The Kardashians." (THR)
Disney+ has set the premiere dates for "Loki" and "Echo." (The Wrap)
ABC announced "The Golden Bachelor," a spinoff of its "Bachelor" series featuring senior men and women, though it did not offer a premiere date. (Deadline)
The Screen Actors Guild Awards will take place on Feb. 24. (THR)

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.